Gods and Kings
by DorkLonk
Summary: The Empire has just suffered a heavy blow with the loss of the Death Star, but a new threat is encroaching upon them. Will the Empire be able to contain the problem? Or will chaos reign true throughout the galaxy. Rated T for mild language and violence


Gods and Kings

Chapter 1

**Orlestar System – Cordian Imperium's territory – 1.2 ABY**

"D-damn! How were they able to get this many fleets already?! I thought their ship production was hindered due to the last Rebel attack." Exclaims the captain of the ISD _Enforcer_. One Imperial Star Destroyer pitted against hundreds of medium and light cruisers of the Cordian Imperium. The conflict between the Galactic Empire and the Cordian Imperium began a couple of months before.

"Captain of the ISD _Enforcer_, surrender at once or be destroyed, by decree of Emperor Arsha!"

"Damn your Emperor to hell! I only serve the Galactic Emperor of the Empire!" Closing communications, the captain turns to one of the officers sitting at the comm station. "Order Hanger Bay One to launch all Bombers and Interceptors! I refuse to surrender my ship to a bunch of traitors. Dozens of TIE Bombers and Interceptors speed at the massive armada of Cordian ships. Seconds later, a flurry of cyan blue light bursts from the ships, annihilating the fighters and their pilots leaving no survivors. "Quickly, set coordinates to Kuat. We need immediate repairs to our weapon systems and defenses. As the massive engines in the back of the vessel begin to glow a bright blue, Cordian fighters rush towards the massive battlecruiser. The automated laser turrets spin and unleash a hellfire of emerald green light, but, it is not enough. The Cordian bombers unleash hundreds of Proton Torpedoes into the engines of the Star Destroyer. The light from the engines blink out and finally go dark as the Hyperdrive shuts down.

"Captain...bad news," one of the officers report after reading a flashing red message on his view screen, "our Hyperdrive is out of commission. We're not leaving anytime soon." "Hmph, of course we're not. But the Cordians are not taking _my_ ship! Lieutenant, activate self-destruct sequence and set time for thirty seconds once the Cordian marines board the ship. Get to the escape pods, I'll stay and deal with the Marines." The officers on the bridge nod as they finish up their duties and rush to the escape pods. Looking out through the transparisteel window on the bridge, the captain sits down in his chair and smiles. "You may have destroyed this ship, but we will bring down upon you a firestorm. The Empire is not a force to be reckoned with and you will soon know this 'Emperor Arsha'". He watches the Cordian troop transports fly towards the ship. The captain walks over to a computer screen and sees that the crew has fully escaped and the Cordians are not pursuing. _"They must only want the ship then...no prisoners. I will make sure of that." _The Cordian marines begin to cut into the hull, "Computer, activate self-destruct sequence. Silent countdown." The Captain stands up and places a hand at the forward view port. "Goodbye..." Multiple explosions rock the interior of the _Enforcer_. A small pod launches from the Hanger Bay and enters into hyperspace several seconds later, finally the explosions reach the Main Reactor Core and destroys the power generators. In a violent eruption of flames and gas, the Star Destroyer breaks apart, killing all the marines on the ship and the captain with it.

**Kuat Drive Yards – 1.2 ABY**

** "Sir, scanners are reading something entering from hyperspace." A small Ensign exclaims from inside the bridge of a docked Star Destroyer. "Put it on the view screen." The captain orders. The view screen lowers from the ceiling and shows a small, black cylinder about one meter tall and a quarter of a meter high. _"A black box?" _**

"Magnify on the object."

The view screen zooms in on the object and words painted in a bright white are shown. "Hm...'Property of the Imperial Navy, ISD _Enforcer_.' Looks like the _Enforcer_ has fallen...quickly send a Utility Tug out to pull it back here. We need to know what took her down." As the order is given, the young captain has a concerned look on his face. Captain Torc Sayul, Captain of the ISD _Emerald Dawn_ presses his fingers against his forehead. "I have a feeling this has something to do with the Cordian Imperium. They've been attacking a lot of our cruisers lately and with a sudden ferocity as well. Their production capability has nearly tripled within the last month. They have to be taking easy targets that aren't defended very well. I'm surprised the Rebellion hasn't been all over this, maybe they're facing the same issue we are."

"Captain, we have it. Want to bring it in for analysis."

"Yes, I'll be down in the hanger within a couple of minutes."

"Yes sir."

"_These are good men. Lucky for use we have the Emperor's new apprentice on board. At least this one isn't as creepy as Lord Vader._" Entering the hanger bay, Torc is faced with a literal black box sitting on top of a table. "Have we been able to get any information out of this?" "Yes captain we have. The _Enforcer_ was attacked by a Cordian fleet. She didn't stand a chance." One of the tech engineers explain. "What I want to know is how they knew where to hit. From what we know the Cordians haven't been able to obtain blueprints for the Imperial Star Destroyer, the only way they could know where to hit either: One, they've gotten information from the Rebellion but this is highly unlikely as the Rebels are facing the same problem we are, or; Two, there's a spy within the Empire who's currently assigned to this operation." Captain Sayul has a confused look on his face, "I thought Imperial Intelligence has already ruled out the possibility of a spy." "Only because they investigated the Cordian defectors after Arsha assassinated King Formdah. The defectors not only were innocent, but they gave us valuable information about the weaknesses of the Cordian fleets." The tech engineer explains, "Trust me, in fact I have several Cordians working with me right now and Imperial Intelligence has never closed their eyes to them, constant watch."

"I see...Where was the _Enforcer_ patrolling?"

"In the Orlestar system, near Boz Pity. Looks like the Cordians have taken control of several systems in that area and are continuing to grow. According to tactical analysts on Coruscant, we have about five months of uninterrupted invasion before they reach the Core planets." The engineer explains as he begins to take a part the black box. "I see...well I'll be in my quarters. Report to me when you find something interesting." Captain Sayul walks back into his quarters to review the history between the Empire and the Cordian Imperium.


End file.
